WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie crossed party lines Wednesday morning and added his name to a last-ditch effort to prevent Affordable Care Act premiums from skyrocketing next year.
Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, is one of four Republicans who broke ranks and signed a Democratic petition that would force a vote on a clean extension of tax credits for Obamacare.
Unless a deal is reached, millions of Americans would see their premiums more than double in 2026.
The tax breaks have been at the forefront of national politics for months and were a key roadblock in the record-long federal government shutdown earlier this year. But House Republicans have been split on the issue, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, chose not to make the credits a priority in the closing days of 2025.
In contrast, Mackenzie and other Republicans from swing districts have been trying to strike a deal with Democrats that would reform the ACA while extending the tax breaks at least a year. But those measures fell short Tuesday night when they ran afoul of House rules.
With all other options gone, Mackenzie and three other Republicans — U.S. Reps. Rob Bresnahan and Brian Fitzpatrick, both Republicans from Pennsylvania, and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. — signed a Democratic discharge petition that would extend the credits three years without implementing any reforms.
Their signatures tipped the scales and are expected to force a vote on the extensions in the House.
Mackenzie's signature was No. 218 — the last one needed to force a vote. In a statement, he said he opted to sign on to protect working families, seniors and small business owners who are concerned about rising health care costs in 2026.
"This is a serious issue with real-world consequences — we must find commonsense, bipartisan solutions to protect access to health insurance for families in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos," Mackenzie said.
Discharge petitions — if a majority of House members sign them — allow bills that have languished to reach the House floor for a full vote. While rarely successful, they've become more common in recent years as partisan politics has paralyzed the House.
Mackenzie expressed opposition to the Democratic petition as recently as last week, saying Thursday, "A three-year extension with no reforms perpetuates a system rife with waste and fraud and hands tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires."
Mackenzie expressed disappointment that most Democrats didn't engage with efforts to prevent fraud or limit tax cuts for high-earners under the ACA.
"Their partisan gamesmanship is what is standing in the way of real, bipartisan health care solutions. Supporting this discharge petition is currently the only way to keep discussions about bipartisan reforms alive," he said.
Mackenzie's decision to back the Democratic petition did little to cool attacks from some of his challengers in next year's midterm election. Democrats Bob Brooks, president of Pennsylvania's statewide firefighter union, and Lamont McClure, the outgoing Northampton County executive, accused him of trying to distract voters from his support of President Donald Trump's policies.
"Ryan Mackenzie's eleventh-hour attempt to paper over his own record of gutting health care and jacking up costs is like an arsonist calling the fire department after he already lit the match," said Bob Brooks, a firefighter union boss.
"Mackenzie is no moderate. Today, he was pretending to be one by signing the discharge petition and supporting an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits," McClure said.
Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District is expected to be among the most competitive in the country. Political observers have labeled it a toss-up, and with control of the House decided by a few swing seats, it could decide which party holds the majority in 2027.
It remains to be seen if the discharge petition will be enough to break the tax credit impasse.
Even if the bill passes through the House — and the petition's success suggests it will — there's no guarantee it can work its way through the U.S. Senate before the Dec. 31 deadline. Senators failed to make any headway on their own proposals last week.
Trump has been a vocal critic of the Affordable Care Act in recent weeks. During a rally at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Monroe County earlier this month, he called the ACA "a scam."
Vice President JD Vance was similarly critical of the Affordable Care Act during a visit to the Lehigh Valley on Tuesday, saying it benefited insurance companies more than the American people.
At the same time, he didn't rule anything out if an extension somehow worked its way through Congress in time.
"We think everything should be on the table, but Democrats and Republicans, they've got to work together and put something on the president's desk to sign," Vance said.
